blog.wddjr.com

This is a gripping and gritty drama about family, fate, circumstance, and justice. Russell Baze (Christian Bale) and his younger brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt in western Pennsylvania, and have always dreamed of escaping and finding better lives.

Russells life isnt easy, but he’s doing his best to get by. He has a dead-end blue collar job at the local steel mill, he is taking care of his terminally ill father, and looking out for his younger brother, Rodney, whos struggling to adapt to normal life following a tour of duty in Iraq. His one comfort is his relationship with the beautiful Lena Warren (Zoe Saldana). However, one fateful evening changes everything for Russell. When he returns to town, years later, his father has passed away, hes lost Lena to local sheriff Wesley Barnes (Forrest Whittaker), and he discovers his war hero brother has been lured into a brutal, underground world of street fighting, run by one of the most violent and ruthless crime rings in the Northeast.

When Rodney mysteriously disappears, and law enforcement fails to follow through, Russell is determined to seek justice for his brother. With nothing left to lose he takes matters into his own hands, risking everything in this intense and explosive thriller.

 

This an extremely dark movie. Bale demonstrates that he is truly an excellent actor and is apparently beginning to realize the importance of being more selective about movie roles. His performance demonstrates the increased level of maturity of his abilities as an actor. He certainly should receive great reviews for this role. Casey Affleck’s performance is also impressive, again demonstrating a level of accomplishment that took brother Ben too many flops before he recognized that good acting takes more than a pretty face and taking your shirt off. I do wish Casey would get a little speech therapy as he still sounds like his voice hasn’t changed. Nonetheless, kudos to him.

 

Woody Harrelson once again demonstrates his acting ability and depth as the villain of villains. You really do hate his character. Although a relatively minor role, Willem Defoe is equally persuasive.

 

A very good cast, tight screenplay, but a bit dark for the holidays. The darkess of Out of the Furnace reminded me of one holiday season when I went to see Winter’s Bone not knowing what the movie was about. It was definitely a great movie but not one that uplifts during the holidays season. I guess the great lesson here is that no matter how bad the holiday season may make you feel, either of these movies will give you a great sense of comfort in knowing your life isn’t that bad after all.

 

Rating: 4.9 out of 5